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Taking my daughter to Florida & Disney in September.
- Thread starter cmibrowns
- Start date
Oh, forgot to mention. Order the planning DVD online. For our first trip, we ordered the custom maps. Both are free. It will give you a nice idea of what's available at each park and where things are. If you've not been to the Magic Kingdom in several years, things have changed. You don't want to waste that precious day with your daughter wandering around the park looking for rides.
Use your three Fast Passes for the rides with the highest demands. If you select the page for a park on the Disney website, it will list each attraction and you can click on the attraction to get details, especially if there is a minimum height requirement...you dont want to waste a Fast Pass on ride your daughter won't be allowed on. Also don't use a fast pass for the afternoon Festival of Fantasy parade or Wishes fireworks. Disney will allow you to select an additional fast pass once your first three selections are used. But that fast pass for Wishes will prevent you from selecting an addition one for a ride during the day.
And don't forget to visit the Planning forum on this site. You will find many helpful discussions on planning a visit to WDW. Which is very helpful to a first time visitor or one who hasn't been in awhile. Also look for discussions about taking young children...many good tips from parents who have been there and done that. Also check out some of the trip reports in that particular forum. Many are hilarious and include excellent photos of the parks, food, shops, etc. And if I remember, there's a section on WDWMagic listing rides closed for refurbishment - you don't want to get excited about a particular ride only to find its closed for repair/upgrades when you arrive.
And download the Disney app. Gives you excellent info - park hours, ride wait times, your list of selected fast passes, etc. You can also make dining reservations, select an additional fast pass and other handy things. Disney recently added a map feature to the app to help you navigate around the park you are in.
Use your three Fast Passes for the rides with the highest demands. If you select the page for a park on the Disney website, it will list each attraction and you can click on the attraction to get details, especially if there is a minimum height requirement...you dont want to waste a Fast Pass on ride your daughter won't be allowed on. Also don't use a fast pass for the afternoon Festival of Fantasy parade or Wishes fireworks. Disney will allow you to select an additional fast pass once your first three selections are used. But that fast pass for Wishes will prevent you from selecting an addition one for a ride during the day.
And don't forget to visit the Planning forum on this site. You will find many helpful discussions on planning a visit to WDW. Which is very helpful to a first time visitor or one who hasn't been in awhile. Also look for discussions about taking young children...many good tips from parents who have been there and done that. Also check out some of the trip reports in that particular forum. Many are hilarious and include excellent photos of the parks, food, shops, etc. And if I remember, there's a section on WDWMagic listing rides closed for refurbishment - you don't want to get excited about a particular ride only to find its closed for repair/upgrades when you arrive.
And download the Disney app. Gives you excellent info - park hours, ride wait times, your list of selected fast passes, etc. You can also make dining reservations, select an additional fast pass and other handy things. Disney recently added a map feature to the app to help you navigate around the park you are in.
Bacon
Well-Known Member
I remember those do they still make it?
I agree. Universal rides are geared towards older children/teenagers and adults. The only area she would enjoy is Dr. Seuss and I think there are only 3-4 rides. Which is a waste of a $100 ticket. If she loves animals and you'd like to visit another theme park, check out Sea World.
Bacon
Well-Known Member
Nah to many coasters take her to animal kingdom
Good question, I honestly don't know because I haven't needed one in years. But there are plenty of YouTube videos the OP could watch. I'd check out the Allears.net channel on YouTube.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Yes, and you can just watch it online now.
https://www.disneyplanning.com/plan...MP=BAC-CRT|9316606|2414137|127370240|69148178
True, but what a wonderful treat for his daughter to get that DVD in the mail. "Look, honey, what Mickey sent you!"
Bacon
Well-Known Member
righttrack
Well-Known Member
You'll have a great day in MK but I strongly suggest another day and another park day too if your wallet can manage.
Regardless, how good of a time you have will depend on how prepared you are. Fastpasses for the most in-demand rides she will want to ride. Get her height. See what she can and can't go on in advance. Disney is strict with height requirements so double checking so there is no sadness is a good idea. You should consider Fastpasses for:
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (if she's tall enough)
Big Thunder Mountain (if she's tall enough)
Most of the other rides won't be as bad to get on. I don't think she'll want Space Mountain. 4 is a tough age. My kids were tall enough and went on almost anything at that age but I know kids scare easily, especially at four, so be flexible. If she's not good with loud noises skip Big Thunder Mountain.
Regardless, how good of a time you have will depend on how prepared you are. Fastpasses for the most in-demand rides she will want to ride. Get her height. See what she can and can't go on in advance. Disney is strict with height requirements so double checking so there is no sadness is a good idea. You should consider Fastpasses for:
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (if she's tall enough)
Big Thunder Mountain (if she's tall enough)
Most of the other rides won't be as bad to get on. I don't think she'll want Space Mountain. 4 is a tough age. My kids were tall enough and went on almost anything at that age but I know kids scare easily, especially at four, so be flexible. If she's not good with loud noises skip Big Thunder Mountain.
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
I saw you mentioned going to the beach. Did you mean one of the Disney World property beaches such as Grand Floridian or Polynesian? If so, just keep in mind that Disney has put "fences" up around the beaches due to the recent alligator attack.
You can still "hang out" on the sand though, just not close to the water.
You can still "hang out" on the sand though, just not close to the water.
Nemo14
Well-Known Member
I don't think anyone staying off site would intentionally "hang out" at any Disney resort beach when they could simply drive to a real beach an hour away. JMHOI saw you mentioned going to the beach. Did you mean one of the Disney World property beaches such as Grand Floridian or Polynesian? If so, just keep in mind that Disney has put "fences" up around the beaches due to the recent alligator attack.
Flippin'Flounder
Well-Known Member
Weekends are bad, so I would go with Friday or Monday. Are you leaving Monday or Tuesday?
Also, you should buy your tickets online ASAP so you can get FastPass+. This will allow you to skip the line on three rides of your choice, and you can make your choices up to 30 days in advance, but some rides will run out of availability.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Definitely try to avoid the weekend if you can.
I understand what you are going through. I am a single father as well, but it has been 6 years now and I have my kids, DS 10 and DD 8, every other week. They asked last year about going to WDW and I replied in about 2-3 years but we need to reduce spending and save for the trip. Things have worked out for us and we will be going this September, but I haven't told them as of yet. It will be their first trip there ever, and my first in about 40 years. A lot has changed since I have been here. As such I have had more than one thread here asking a number of different questions.
The best advice I can give you is this is your and more importantly your daughter's trip. Get as much advice and knowledge as you can. But the final decisions should be based on your likes and priorities. We don't do thrill rides so, this helped with choosing our FPs as we could eliminate a number of the more popular rides. I would also suggest checking out some sites which share touring plans and crowd attendance. They could also give you a good idea which day(s) to attend MK. From what I have found, September is one of the lowest attendance months for WDW which should make things easier, but having a plan is always best. But be flexible to allow for breaks for your daughter to relax or enjoy something she enjoys. I heard it better to attend a park the day after it has extra magic hours.
Are you looking at doing the rides or M&G as many Princesses/characters as possible? Some M&Gs can get long wait times as well. Some say book your FPs for later in the day when the wait times are longest. I have gone with booking our 3 FPs for earlier in the day and getting as many FPs after we use our 3rd. I read in a thread someone was getting extra FPs through the app on their phone while waiting in line to get on the ride they were using their last FP for. I am hoping to reduce the wait times of all the rides/shows we attend. At least this is the plan. I hope it works. I have used our FPs for both rides and Princess M&Gs Then again we are going to WDW for 7 days and attending MK for 3, including attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you have it in your budget, may be something to think about. The park is open longer, lower crowds, shorter wait lines, special Halloween activities including treat or treating. I expect this to be our only trip to WDW and planning on making this an extra experience for my two. I don't want to be rushed or be vacation poor. I want this to be a great experience for all three of us and a magical time we all shared together.
I would suggest not park hopping as you would 'waste' time travelling to another park when you could be enjoying more of one park. I would go with the stroller. Little legs don't move as fast as bigger ones. You will be able to cover more of the park this way, not to mention some storage space and allowing her to rest. Go back and forth between outdoor attractions and indoor attractions with a/c to reduce the affect of the heat. You can also ask for ice water from quick service restaurants for free. I have a thread asking for free/cheap things that can be done at WDW, as I am also working on a budget, you may want to have a look at. There a lot of helpful ideas there, amoungst others.
There are a lot of people here who have tons of experience to share with rookies like us. Take advantage of as much as you can. There are no dumb questions, just questions not asked in order to make your experience the best it can be.
The best advice I can give you is this is your and more importantly your daughter's trip. Get as much advice and knowledge as you can. But the final decisions should be based on your likes and priorities. We don't do thrill rides so, this helped with choosing our FPs as we could eliminate a number of the more popular rides. I would also suggest checking out some sites which share touring plans and crowd attendance. They could also give you a good idea which day(s) to attend MK. From what I have found, September is one of the lowest attendance months for WDW which should make things easier, but having a plan is always best. But be flexible to allow for breaks for your daughter to relax or enjoy something she enjoys. I heard it better to attend a park the day after it has extra magic hours.
Are you looking at doing the rides or M&G as many Princesses/characters as possible? Some M&Gs can get long wait times as well. Some say book your FPs for later in the day when the wait times are longest. I have gone with booking our 3 FPs for earlier in the day and getting as many FPs after we use our 3rd. I read in a thread someone was getting extra FPs through the app on their phone while waiting in line to get on the ride they were using their last FP for. I am hoping to reduce the wait times of all the rides/shows we attend. At least this is the plan. I hope it works. I have used our FPs for both rides and Princess M&Gs Then again we are going to WDW for 7 days and attending MK for 3, including attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If you have it in your budget, may be something to think about. The park is open longer, lower crowds, shorter wait lines, special Halloween activities including treat or treating. I expect this to be our only trip to WDW and planning on making this an extra experience for my two. I don't want to be rushed or be vacation poor. I want this to be a great experience for all three of us and a magical time we all shared together.
I would suggest not park hopping as you would 'waste' time travelling to another park when you could be enjoying more of one park. I would go with the stroller. Little legs don't move as fast as bigger ones. You will be able to cover more of the park this way, not to mention some storage space and allowing her to rest. Go back and forth between outdoor attractions and indoor attractions with a/c to reduce the affect of the heat. You can also ask for ice water from quick service restaurants for free. I have a thread asking for free/cheap things that can be done at WDW, as I am also working on a budget, you may want to have a look at. There a lot of helpful ideas there, amoungst others.
There are a lot of people here who have tons of experience to share with rookies like us. Take advantage of as much as you can. There are no dumb questions, just questions not asked in order to make your experience the best it can be.
SyracuseDisneyFan
Well-Known Member
How was the trip?